U-T wins design, photo and video honors

U-T San Diego was honored this month with five major awards for its photography, videography and design.

The U-T received four awards of excellence from The Society for News Design in the 33rd annual “Best of News Design Creative Competition.” More than 10,200 entries were submitted by daily and non-daily newspapers and magazines from 39 countries.

Staff photographer Nelvin C. Cepeda was lauded by the design organization for his pictures in “The Long Walk Home,” an eight-part series in December that documented a Marine’s recovery after losing his legs in the Afghanistan War.

U-T illustrator Cristina Martinez Byvik was recognized for her cover illustration of a Night & Day section in May headlined, “A Little of the Big Easy.”

She and designer Gloria Orbegozo took the Award of Excellence for their broadsheet feature design titled “After Surgery,” which ran on the cover of the Health section last October.

And Orbezogo also captured the award for feature porfolio for six covers of the Health section. She won for the same category the previous year.

Meanwhile, staff photographer James Gregg won third place in the sports multimedia category of the Pictures of the Year international competition. His entry, a video titled “Dance With the Devil,” takes an up-close look at how cowboys weigh the risk of injury versus the thrill of riding bulls.

The Pictures of the Year contest began in 1944 at the University of Missouri as an exhibit for the best photographs of current events. It has grown over the years to add magazine photography, and now invites entries from around the world. The competition receives tens of thousands of entries each year.